Lubricant director



April 10, 1951 E. MENDENHALL 2,548,229

LUBRICANT DIRECTOR Filed Oct. l2, 1946 Patented Apr. 10, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE '2,548,229

LBRICANT DIBEGTR Earl Mendenhall, San Marino, ali'f., ass'ifgiior to Sterling Electric Motors, Inc., Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California Application October 12, 1946, SeralrNio. 702,975 1o 'claimsl (o1. aos-187i) My invention relates to vpower transmissions and more particularly-to a power transmissionrin which a member suchpas a pulley or gear is carried on a rotating shaft onwhich the member slides.

It vis an object of the invention to provide bearing means for supporting the shaft combined with means forl directing lubricant to the sliding surface between the member and shaft.

The invention has a special utility when used in a structure more specifically described herein but which is also shown in the application of Bernhard N. Palm, Serial No. 549,356, filed August 14, 1944, now Patent No. 2,433,150, issued Decem ber 23, 1947, and owned by the assignee of this application. Y

Further objects of my invention will appear from the following specification and the draw-A ing, which is intended for the vpurpose of illustration only, andA in which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through the bearing of the type commonly used ina :tra-nsmission mechanism, showing my improved lubricant directing and retaining device as applied to use therewith; y

Fig. 2 isV an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of a portion of the bearing shown in Fig. l; and

Fig. Sis a section on a plane dei-ined by the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

My invention is herein illustrated, by way of example, as applied to use in a bearing forming part of a powerl transmission mechanism but it will be obvious from the following description` that it may be advantageously employed in the bearings of other machines or apparatus. Referring to the drawing in detail, the reference character 5 designates, generally, a bearing which forms part of the power transmission mechanism and which serves to rotatably support the adjacent reduced ends of a pair of coaxial shafts 6 and 1. The shaft 6, which for convenience 'of description may be considered the `drive shaft of the mechanism, has a sleeve 9 on itsy reduced Vend which is splined to the shaft by a key I0 projecting through a slot in the sleeve. Rigidly clamped on the sleeve 9 by means `of binder screws II and keyed rotatively with the shaft 6 by the key Il) is the split hub portion I2 of lone member I3 of a driving pulley I5. Keyed rotatively with the shaft B by the key `Il! and :slidable axially toward and away from the pulley member I3 is the companion member I-B 'of the pulley I5. K

The hub of the p ley member 16; has areg 2 duced end I-8 on which is rigidlysecured the inner ball race I9 of a ball bearing 20. The `outer ball race 2| of the ball bearing 20 is arranged to slide axially in the bore 22 of a vboss or housingY Y 23 forming part of the casing of the transmission mechanism. The ball bearing 20 is preferably of the combined radial and axial thrust type and has balls 24 revolvable between its inner and outer races. Y Y

l A second ball bearing 25"has itsouter ball racev 26 slidable axially in the bore 22 and its inner race Y21 is .iixedly connected to the reduced end of the hub 28 of a pulley member y29. The pulley member 29 is slidable axially on a sleeve 30 andY splined to the driven shaft I by a vkeywil projecti-ng through a slot in the sleeve. The ball bearing `25 is also of the combined radial and axial thrust type and includes'balls 32 revolvable b e tween its races. The .member 29 constitutes the movable part of a two-part pulley 35, the other member 36 `of the pulley .35 being `clamped to the sleeve 3U by means of screws 31 and splined to the shaft `1 by the key 3I.

The pulley 3'5 vis of larger diameter than the pulley I5 and 1s adapted to be driven from the driving pulley I5 at areduced rate o'f speed. The shaft 5 may rotate at a different speed than `the shaft 1. The driving connections between the pulleys vI 5 and '3'5 are not herein shown since 'they may be of any knowntype. Suffice rit tostate that the pulley I5 usually drives a similar pulley mounted on a countersha'ft or other intermediate vmechanism by means of a 'V-belt '38 and a second pulley on the countershaft may transmit rotary motion to the driven pulley .35 through the medium `of a V-belt A39. Through suitable inlstrumentalities (not shown) the V-belts 38 and 39 are caused toy move radially along the inner sloping faces of the pulleys I5 and 35 to vary the speed ratio between the driving and driven shafts 6 and 1, respectively. As the belt 39 is moved radially inward and outward the movable member AI6 of the pulley I5 is shifted, respectively, away irm and toward 'the fixed pulley member I3 and through means ofthe intermediate driving connections, referred 'to above, the movable member 29 of the driven pulley v35 is moved in the same direction. It will be apparent, therefore, that w-hen the effective driving diameter of the pulley I5 is increased the eiective driven diameter of the pulley 35 is decreased, and vice versa. To insure positive co-operation beV` tween the 'pulleys I5 and 35 a relatively narrow sleeve 40 is lsl'idably disposed within the =bore 22 betweenthe outer races 2I and 26 of the respeci tive ball bearings 2U and 25 so that when either of the movable pulley members IB or 29 is shifted in a particular direction the movable member of the other pulley will be simultaneously shifted in the same direction. The sleeve 40 is provided 5 with a peripheral groove 4| and with a plurality of circumferentially spaced openings 42 communicating with said groove.

The boss 23 is provided with an orice 43 and a longitudinal groove 44 which is adapted to` 10. communicate with the 42 of the sleeve 40. Screwed into athreaded counterbore of the orifice 4731s a lubrication tting 45 which may be of any preferred type. Lubricant may be forced under pressure through the fitting 45, orifice 43, groove 44, groove 4| and the openings 42 and into the space between the bearings and 25 by means of a suitable Alubricating gun. To effect free sliding movement of the members I6 and 29 on their respective sleeves 20 9 and 30 it is essential that the bores of the members be lubricated and for this reason it is intended that the lubricant should flow into the bores. However, it has been determined that such lubricant usually follows the lines of least resistance and thus has the tendency to pass outwardly between the inner and outer races of the ball bearings 20 and 25 without lubricating the slidable pulley members. It is the aim ofv my invention to obviate this condition by providing means, to be next described, for retaining the lubricant within the bearing whereby to cause the lubricant to be distributed to the bores of the pulley members I6 and 29.

v The end faces of the sleeve are provided 35 with circular recesses 4l and 48 adapted to receive retainer elements and 5|, respectively. Each of the elements 50 and 5| consists of a ring constructed from relatively thin, flexible sheet metal, such as phosphor-bronze, having a thickness 40 which is less than the depth of the recesses 4l and 48. The outside diameter of each retainer element is slightly less than the diameter of the recess 41 or 48 in which it is disposed to adapt it to rotate in its respective recess and the inside 45 diameter of each element is slightly greaterthan the diameter of the reduced portions of the hubs i8 and 28 so that .clearance is provided between these parts. Y

Lubricant forced through the iitting 45, orifice 5o 43 and groove 44, groove 4| and openings 42 will ilow under pressure into the chamber 52 defined by the retainer elements 5B and 5| and the sleeve 40 to ll the space between the ball bearings 20 and 25. Some of the injected lubricant will ilow 55 through the central openings of the retainer elements 50 and 5L and around the outer edges thereof into the annular spaces between the balls 24 and 32 of the bearings 2G and 25, respectively, tolubricate the relatively movable parts of the ball bearings. However, as pressure is developed within the chamber 52 the retainer elements 5U and 5| will be'forced laterally away from each other to cause them to be shifted into engagement with the sides of the inner and outer ball races of the ball bearings 2D and 25 to seal the chamber 52 and thus prevent the escape of lubricant from the bearing 5 by way of the ball bearings 20 and 25. It will be apparent therefore that when further lubricant is forced into the bearing 5 it will be directed into the clearance space between the slidable pulley members I6 and 29 and their respective sleeves 9 and 30 to elfectively lubricate the pulley members and sleeves to provide a free groove 4| and the openings 4 sliding fit therebetween and to prevent wear of these parts.

It sometimes occurs that the side faces of the inner and outer ball race members of the ball bearing units are not aligned exactly due to inaccuracies in manufacture and wear of the bearing parts so that the face of one race member may project laterally beyond the face of the other race member to a slight degree. The relatively .thin retainer elements 50 and 5| are adapted to ex when subjected to the pressure of the lubricant'jin the" chamber 52 and thus each element is ,caused to engage both the inner and outer race Vmembers of the ball bearing unit with which it cooperates to positively seal the inner side of the ball bearing unit even though the inner faces of the race members are not exactly aligned. Because the retainer elements engage against both race members with the same pressure, any wear occurring in the portions of the elements which contact the race members will be equalized. It will be noted that the outer race members 2| and 26 of the respective ball bearing units 20 and 25 rotate at a lesser speed than the driven inner race members I9 and 21 but due to the fact that the retainer elements 50 and 5l contact the inner and outer race members only during the forcing of lubricant into the chamber 52V and are adequately lubricated during this time, no appreciable wear of the contacting surfaces of the retainer elements will ensue. The pressure-responsive retainer elements 5D and 5| normally are spaced from the race members, as shown in Fig. 2, by a lrn of lubricant and thus wear of the elements is negligible and the elements will last almost indefinitely without replacement.

' It will be observed fromthe foregoing that my invention provides an extremely simple'yet highly eicient means for controlling thedistribution of lubricant within a bearing and is particularly adapted for use with bearings in which rotatable and slidable mechanical elements are supported. As a particular feature of the invention, the improved device is operated in response to the pressure of the lubricant introduced into the bearing to seal passages in the bearing through which the lubricant might be expelled. The device thus serves to retain the lubricant within the bearing to cause the same to be distributed throughout the interior of the bearing whereby .to lubricate parts therein which might otherwise be insufficiently lubricated. As another important feature of improvement, my invention provides a device which is particularly adapted for use in bearing housings wherein one or more ball bearing units are employed for supporting rotary parts and in which the units are slidable within the housing, the device acting to per-mit the flow of a predetermined amount of lubricant to the ball bearing units to adequately lubricate the same and to thereafter seal the annular openings between the ball races of the units to prevent escape of the lubricant from the housing. Moreover, the lubricant sealing device employs resilientretainer elements which are adapted to iiex to conform to the surfaces which they engage so that a rm, leak-proof contact therewith is effected. Since the retainer elements are adequately lubricated at all times they resist Wear and may be employed over long periods of time without replacement. f 1

While I have` shown the lubricant retaining a-nd directing means as embodied in a preferred form of construction, by way of example, it will be -understood that it maybemodiiied in various anfragen,

particulars without v'departing from the Vspirit .of the invention. Consequently, I do not desire to be limited by the foregoing specification, but desire to be afforded the full scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A lubricant sealing device adapted to seal lubricant in a bearing which includes an antifriction bearing unit having outer Aand inner race members with straight sides and elements rollable between. said race members, comprising: a thin, flexible pressure-responsive sealing member floatingly mounted entirely within said bearing and movable bodily toward said straight sides of said outer and inner races.

2. A lubricant sealing device adapted to seal lubricant in a bearing which includes an antifriction -bearing .unit having outer and inner race n members with straight sides and elements rollable between said race members, comprising: a thin, iiexible pressure-'responsive sealing ring floatingly mounted entirely within vsaid bearing adjacent but outside said outer and inner race members and normally spaced from said race members so that lubricant introduced into said bearing under a predetermined pressure can pass between said outer'and inner race members, said sealing ring being slidable and flexible yso -as to engage said straight sides of said race members of said bearing unit in response to lubricant pressures eX- ceeding said predetermined pressure to seal said race members against passage of said lubricant between said outer and inner race members.

3. A lubricant sealing device adapted to seal lubricant in a bearing housing which includes an anti-friction bearing unit having outer and inner race members with aligned, straight non-recessed sides and elements rollable between said race members, comprising: an annular member disposed outside said bearing unit and having a planar face disposed adjacent said aligned race members of said bearing unit and provided with an annular recess; and a resilient iexible sealing ring rotatable and slidable axially in said recess, said sealing ring being of less thickness than the depth of said recess so that said ring can slide therein toward and away from said bearing unit.

4. A bearing structure for rotatably supporting an element, including: a housing; an anti-friction bearing unit in said housing, said unit comprising outer and inner race members and rollable elements between said race members; means for introducing lubricant into said housing under pressure; and a slidable flexible sealing ring normally spaced from said race members to permit lubricant introduced into said housing under a predetermined pressure to pass between said outer and inner race members, said sealing member being adapted to be slid and flexed into sealing engagement with said race members of said bearing unit in response to lubricant pressures exceeding said predetermined pressure to prevent the passage of said lubricant between said outer and inner race members.

5. A bearing structure for supporting a rotatable and axially movable member, including: a housing; an anti-friction bearing unit in said housing for supporting said member, said bearing unit being connected to and movable with said member, said unit having outer and inner race members and revolvable elements between said race members; means for introducing lubricant into said housing under pressure; and a flexible sealing ring slidable within said housing and normally spaced from said outer and inner race members to permit lubricant introduced into said bearing rundera predetermined pressure to pass" between said kouter vand inner race members, said sealing .member'being adapted to be vslid and flexed into sealing engagement with saidouter'and inner race members in response to lubricant pressures exceeding said predetermined pressure to prevent the passage of said lubricant between said `outer and inner race members.

6. A Abearing structure for supporting a pair of rotatable and axially movable members, including: a housing; a pair of spaced anti-friction bearing units .slidable in said housing, each of said units Pcomprising an `outer race member, an inner race member Yand balls revolvable lbetween said race members, each of said inner race members supporting one `o'f said rotatable and movable members; .means for introducing lubricant intoV said housing undercvpres'sure; an annular member disposed between and ,connecting said outer race members yfor unitary axial movement; flexible sealing rings slidably mounted between each side of said annular member and the bearing unit on its respective rside Yand normally spaced there- -from topermit lubricant introduced into said housing undei` a predetermined pressure to pass between the outer and inner racemembers of each bearing unit, each of said sealing rings being adapted to be slid and exed into sealingengagement with said outer and inner race members of said bearing units in response to lubricantpres-- sures exceeding said predetermined pressure to prevent the passage of said lubricant between said outer and inner race members.

'7. In a power transmission, the combination of: a bearing housing having a cylindrical opening therein; a driving shaft within said opening; a driven shaft coaxial with said driving shaft; a driving member rotatable with but slidable axially on said driving shaft; a driven member rotatable with but slidable axially on said driven shaft; a driving shaft ball bearing unit slidable within limits axially in said opening, said ball bearing unit fitting on and rotatively supporting said driving member; a driven shaft ball bearing unit slidable axially in said opening, said driven shaft ball bearing unit fitting on and rotatively supporting said driven member, said bearing housing having a port through which lubricant may be injected into a chamber provided between said ball bearing units and the adjacent ends of said shafts; an annular member disposed between said bearing units and slidable therewith in said opening; and flexible sealing members slidably disposed between said annular member and said ball bearing units and operative to retard the flow of lubricant from said chamber through said ball bearing units.

8. In a power transmission, the combination of: a bearing housing having a cylindrical opening therein; a driving shaft in said opening; a

driven shaft coaxial with said. driving shaft; a

slidable axially in said opening, said driven shaft Y ball bearing unit fitting on and rotatively supporting said driven member, said bearing housing having a port through which lubricant may be injected into a chamber provided between said ball bearing units and the adjacent ends of said shafts; an annular member disposed between said bearing units and slidable therewith in said opening, said annular member having an annular recess in each of its planar faces; and resilient, flexible sealing rings slidable and rotatable in said recesses, said rings being responsive to lubricant pressure Within said chamber to slide and flex against said bearing units to seal any openings through said bearing units and thus prevent the iiow of lubricant from said chamber through said ball bearing units.

9. A sealing device for use in sealing the race- Way of an antifriction bearing'having inner and outer annular races, said races having aligned, non-recessed sides dening together a planar face, comprising: a sleeve member having a circular recess in at least one o f its end faces; and a pressure-responsive, iiexible, sealing member loatingly disposed in said recess, said device being placeable against said planar face of the antifriction bearing, and said pressure-responsive sealing member being slidable in said recess and flexible so as to engage said planar face of the antifriction bearing in response to a predetermined pressure of lubricant introduced into said sleeve. Y

10. A sealing device for use in sealing the raceways of a pair of spaced, axially aligned antifriction bea-rings having inner and outer annular races,V the races of each bearing together dening a planar face, comprising: a sleeve member having circular recesses in its end faces and a radial opening communicating with its interior; and a pair of pressure-responsive, flexible, sealing members each floatingly disposed in one of said recesses, said device being disposed between said antifriction bearings, and said pressureresponsive members being slidable axially in said recesses and ilexible into rm engagement with said planar faces of the antifriction bearings in response to a predetermined pressure of lubricant.v

introduced into said sleeve through said radial opening.

EARL MENDENI-IALL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,124,526 Goldsworthy July 26, 1938 2,340,704 Shaw n, Feb. 1, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 11,787 Great Britain 1908 

